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Repurposed Metal Chicken Feeder into an Herb Planter

March 28, 2014

Stop! Don't throw out that old rusted metal chicken feeder! Turn it into a cute herb planter in no time -perfect for growing some thyme, sage, mint, basil and other healthy herbs for your flock!

I ran across this beat-up, discarded feeder tucked into a corner of our barn a few weeks ago. On my way back to the house, I decided that instead of throwing it out, I could make a cute little planter out of it. Here's what I did:

First I found this awesome drill bit in the garage and drilled some drainage holes in the bottom of the feeder.

Then I drilled some more. Okay, so they're not totally symmetrical..

Then I stuffed some tissue paper inside so the spray paint wouldn't get on the inside and sprayed the exterior with some Rustoleum white spray paint.

I put some rocks in the bottom and then cut a piece of window screen to fit over the rocks to catch and hold in the dirt.

I had some chalkboard labels so I decided to affix one to the front that says 'Herbs' just to pretty my planter up a bit.

After adding some nice composted dirt, I chose a few herbs to plant in the top and bottom. Many herbs have very shallow roots and don't grow very large. so they are perfect for a planter like this one. Read HERE for some ideas and the common health benefits of the common culinary herbs.

I decided to up the 'cute factor' a bit and make a little bunting for across the top, so I drilled a hole in either side of the top of the planter, then cut out little double-sided pennants from some Martha Stewart craft paper and used a glue stick to affix them to a piece of twine, which I then strung and tied at each side to secure the bunting.

A good watering and I set my planter in a sunny window so I (and the chickens) can enjoy fresh herbs all spring and summer.